Page 48 of Collin: Episodes 4-6
Collin slept with his face buried in Mr. Reevesworth’s ribs and woke up there as well. The walk to work went quietly. There was a meeting Collin was to accompany Mr. Reevesworth to that morning in another high-rise. They stayed in the Reevesworth Industries office only long enough to check messages and say hello to Janice and Bruiski. Hartwick had gotten Janice’s cold and was taking it badly, so she was not in. Bruiski was also blowing his nose. Mr. Reevesworth shook his head and suggested they both make a half day of it and take Friday off if they could.
At the meeting, Collin fetched coffee, brewed tea, and ran errands. For once, he felt competent and capable and had answers for every question someone asked even if it was simple. When he pushed the door open for Mr. Reevesworth and himself to step back out into the city’s blustering fall weather, he almost had a smile on his face.
“Should I get lunch, Sir?”
Mr. Reevesworth looked down at his watch. “Yes. Just my normal order at the udon place.”
“I don’t know what your normal order is, Sir.”
Mr. Reevesworth shook his head. “I’m already forgetting you haven’t been with me that long. I’ll text it to you. Do you know where the place is?”
Collin didn’t, but Mr. Reevesworth sent him the address and promised to text his order as soon as he arrived at the office. They parted ways two corners down. Collin took the liberty of ordering food for himself and Ash as well. While he waited, he texted with Alice and Ellisandre and gave his mother a quick call to ask about Samhain plans. It was only a week away. He set himself a reminder for that evening to ask Mr. Reevesworth about it. While the idea of flying out still made his heart race, facts were facts. Mr. Reevesworth was not going to blink at the cost.
The office was empty except for Mr. Reevesworth when Collin arrived. The man was at the large table near the door, maps and printouts spread out around him.
“Did they go home, then?” Collin set the food down on a vacant corner of the table.
Mr. Reevesworth glanced up and nodded. “I told them both to go to the doctor. Hartwick couldn’t get an appointment though.”
“Even at the quick clinic in the drugstore?”
Mr. Reevesworth looked back down at the map and shook his head. “One of these days, I’m going to buy a hospital.”
Collin started to unload the bags. “That won’t fix the problem, though, sir. You still have insurance and the doctor and nursing staff shortage.”
Mr. Reevesworth scowled. “Then I’ll start a school and recruit for it. If I can do that for businesses and engineers and bright boys like you, I can do that for doctors, nurses, and techs. This system is inefficient. Actually, make a note of that. In your free time, start researching who would be able to consult on building that type of system. I don’t want to keep buying insurance if the services are not there when we need them.”
“Dr. Haverty’s always there. He was there last night.” Collin touched his forehead. It was still just a little tender.
“Dr. Haverty is an acquaintance who lives in our building. He didn’t charge for last night. Émeric will probably send him wine or baked goods or something.”
Collin pushed the udon bowl closer to Mr. Reevesworth’s personal space. “You need to eat, Sir.”
Mr. Reevesworth huffed. He snagged a backless stool and dropped down in front of the food. “Is all the rest of that for you?”
“No. This one is for Ash. I can take it to him later.”
Mr. Reevesworth shook his head. “I’m not going to be good company. This”—he nodded at the spread of maps and papers—“needs staring at. Go see Ash. Just don’t leave the floor without talking to me, and be back in an hour.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dinner that night was from Medi’s, but only Mr. Reevesworth and Collin were in The Residency to eat it. Mr. Moreau texted his husband in the afternoon that he was staying late at his office. Mr. Reevesworth read the text with equanimity, but a few moments later, Collin caught him frowning into nothing while sitting in the living room. Collin put down the tea he’d just made for them on the coffee table in front of him and knelt down to pour it.
“I should book my ticket for Samhain, sir.”
Mr. Reevesworth shook himself, coming back from wherever he had been. “My agent already did. We’ll be leaving the evening before. I don’t know if you plan to stay with your mother at her house, but I have a hotel room in the downtown area reserved as well and a car at the airport. We’ll leave Thursday evening and come back Saturday afternoon.”
Collin blinked. “Uh…thank you?”
Mr. Reevesworth nodded. “I should have told you earlier. Anyway, leave a note for Eddy for what colors you prefer. You need luggage.” He tousled Collin’s hair and tugged him up on the couch next to him.
“Eddy?” Collin asked, settling himself.
“Our house manager. You won’t see him often. He’s not on-site. He was in Italy last week, or I would have had him replace the bed. He usually handles things like this. Mostly he keeps our country properties and Linda’s house in order.”
“I thought I was your assistant?”
“You are my assistant. With my work. But if you took on every area of my life, one, I would never be able to surprise you, and two, you would not have time to go back to school or be my pet.”
